Sauce Tomate (Tomato Sauce)

Sauce Tomate (Tomato Sauce) is one of the five French "mother sauces" that are the foundation of hundreds of other sauces. As is, it's pretty basic; but it can be seasoned to make an Italian marinara sauce, Spanish tomato sauce, a Creole sauce, and many other tomato based sauces.

Ingredients:

2-3 oz salt pork (like bacon, but not smoked; the fattier the better!)

2 T butter

1 C mirepoix (½ C chopped onion, ¼ C each chopped carrot and celery)

6 T flour

5 lbs (about 10 C) tomatoes, chopped*

1 qt white veal (or vegetable) stock

1 clove garlic, crushed or minced

1 T sugar

salt and pepper to taste

* Fresh is always ideal, but using canned tomatoes works too

Directions:

Render salt pork.  (How to “render” the salt pork: Place salt pork in a sauté pan with a tablespoon of water, cover with a lid over medium heat for 3-6 minutes, watch closely – don’t let it burn. The salt pork should nearly melt away…leaving the fat/grease. Water keeps it from browning or burning.)

Add butter, carrots and onions; sweat over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender and fragrant.

Sprinkle flour over vegetables, and cook an additional few minutes, stirring continually. (This is a blond roux.) 

Combine roux and tomatoes in a stock pot; continue to cook until tomatoes are soft and have released liquid. (If using canned tomatoes, all you really need to do is bring the mixture to a simmer.) Add stock and garlic clove. Cover pot with lid and simmer 1½ to 2 hours.

Add sugar (to balance the acidity of the tomatoes; not to make it sweet), salt and pepper.

Variations: If a smooth tomato sauce is desired, purée with an immersion blender. If a cream sauce tomate is desired, 1-2 cups of heavy cream can be added.